Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneur is Shopbake Founder Monica Abramov, whose previous experience owning a retail bakery business gave her the idea and knowledge to create a service that’s equally beneficial for both bakeries and consumers…
Elevator Pitch: Describe your business in a nutshell.
Shopbake.com is an online bakery marketplace – the first of its kind in Canada. Basically the Etsy for bakeries/baked goods.
Why did you start your business, what was the inspiration?
Having owned a retail bakery business in the past (The Designer Cookie in Toronto), I had a great product line and a great ecommerce site, but no budget for marketing. Although I had a fantastic site, I couldn’t actually drive consistent traffic to it in a meaningful way. Shopbake.com helps local bakers and bakery owners get their product in front of buyers all across Canada, and for the consumer, it provides a quick, simple and convenient way to order baked goods online.
What is the best part of what you do on a day-to-day basis? The most challenging part?
I love seeing my idea coming to fruition. The past year has been spent overseeing the development of Shopbake. Each milestone has been super exciting. I get excited over the small details – things that will make life easier for the sellers, things that someone who wasn’t formerly in the industry wouldn’t think about. It is challenging doing it all on my own as I have to handle the project management, the creative direction, branding, marketing, financials and business side of it, so it’s certainly not easy balancing it all.
Where do you see your business going in 5 years?
I see Shopbake.com becoming the online destination of choice when searching for and purchasing baked goods online, and I’d like to see all of Canada represented on the site within the next five years (hopefully much sooner), with an expansion into the US as the next step. There are many other ways I’d like Shopbake to branch out in the next five years, but you’ll have to stay tuned to see what they are!
What does success look like to you?
To me, personal success is waking up and being super excited to start your day – to retain that passion for what you do no matter what challenges may come. It’s easy to get excited about a new idea, but real success is holding onto that excitement through thick and thin – through the everyday hurdles that come with launching and running your own start-up all the way to the small (and large) victories.
What is the most memorable milestone in your career?
I would have to say finally feeling like I’ve found my ‘big idea’, which is something I’ve been searching for throughout my career. And since I found it, I haven’t stopped.
Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Don’t ignore the tug of entrepreneurship if it’s calling to you. I strongly believe that if you’re an entrepreneur at heart, you always will be – and working for someone else won’t make you happy for very long.
Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is that important to you?
The Canadian Breast Cancer foundation (my mother is a survivor!). I used to run fundraisers in support of the foundation and plan to continue to support it on a larger scale with Shopbake.
What is Notable to you?
I love seeing women succeed in business – fellow female entrepreneurs are my inspiration and my soul sisters, as cheesy as that may sound.
Blackberry, iPhone, Android, or Other?
I recently switched from my beloved iPhone to Android, but I’m making the switch back for the iPhone 6. I feel like I’m coming home.
How do you keep active, energetic, and vibrant?
I just had a baby five weeks ago, so right now just sleeping more than three hours at a time keeps me energetic. But talk to me in a few months!
#NOTABLE
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